Orupa owner Hans Afshar planned an elaborate brunch for the eclipse: live music, champagne, eggs Benedict, all with a rooftop view.

He was going to charge $100 a head, with some of the proceeds going to the Salem-based charity Family Building Blocks.

When no one reserved a spot, he dropped the price to $60. Then he canceled the event altogether, but kept the rooftop open.

Come Monday, Afshar had one rooftop customer.

Expectations of high foot traffic pushed Salem businesses to stock up, or lay big plans, for the eclipse. While some struggled to adjust to smaller-than-expected crowds, others scored with Monday diners and shoppers.

Before the eclipse, Travel Salem estimated customers would shed around $9 million in total spending for the event. It's unclear if they ended up spending that much.

Travel Salem spokeswoman Kara Kuh said the potential "rush" of customers before the eclipse didn't quite happen. She said it felt like people "trickled in." She's heard business was busy Monday after the eclipse.

Still, she thinks businesses and agencies were well prepared: “Better to be prepared than caught off guard."

Restaurants adapt to slow start

By the time eclipse week arrived, Afshar expected a slow weekend. With radio silence on his reservation line, the chef decided to change his plan for stocked goods: Keep the focus on dry products, and hope for the best with the perishables.

“I geared up, and I said, ‘Don’t overstock yourself,’” he said. “I knew this has happened a couple of times before, like Y2K, where the hype just didn’t deliver.”

He wasn’t alone. Dino Venti, owner of both Venti’s Café locations, stocked heavily on Wednesday but focused on what wouldn’t spoil.

“We stocked up and prepared on Wednesday, (but) the surge really came on Saturday, Sunday and Monday,” Venti said. “We stocked up heavily on dry goods, and we tried to stay tight as we could on perishables.”

Many restaurateurs prepared for the weekend with lots of staff and long shifts, but some days the extra help was unnecessary.

Cecilia Ritter James, co-owner of ACME Café and Wild Pear Restaurant & Catering, was the queen of eclipse planning. She called her internet provider, her suppliers, even the Roth’s next to ACME to prepare for the weekend. But on Friday and Saturday, she said crowds were a bit of a letdown.

“We were anticipating big spikes in volume by Friday, and we did not experience that at either location until Sunday,” Ritter James said. “We were heavily prepped in labor and food product. At Wild Pear, if anything, Friday was below average sales. It felt like a ghost town in downtown Salem.”

Battling a timid local crowd, many businesses used social media to attract Salem residents hiding from the anticipated chaos.

Ritter James posted on her personal Facebook and restaurant accounts, encouraging locals to visit. The Governor’s Cup co-owner Evan Delgado also posted Saturday, after he arrived at work to a too-quiet downtown Salem. He said the response was swift.

“By late morning, it was jam-packed,” Delgado said.

Monday was much busier, with many local restaurants making up for the slow mornings during the weekend.

“When we opened at noon there was a line around the block waiting to get in,” Delgado said.

Matt Radtke, co-owner of Gilgamesh Brewing, planned a large viewing event Monday with a free party to follow. He said the weekend was slow, but an overall success.

“Sunday and Monday totally made up for the slowness on Saturday,” Radtke said. “It was our worst Friday for a couple years… (but) we had a really wild weekend.”

Junior Amion of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes look at the sun during an eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017 at Salem-Keizer Volcanoes baseball stadium in Keizer, Oregon Monday, August 21, 2017. The Volcanoes, in their special eclipse uniforms, played the Hillsboro Hops during the eclipse with a break about 10 minutes before totality. RICHARD LUI / USA TODAY Network

Shirley Liu, of Portland, watches the Great American total solar eclipse travels over the Yaquina Bay Bridge in Newport, Ore., on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. The eclipse first made landfall in Newport. ANNA REED / Statesman Journal

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes infielder, Manuel Geraldo, looks at the sun during an eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017 at Salem-Keizer Volcanoes baseball stadium in Keizer, Oregon Monday, August 21, 2017. The Volcanoes played the Hillsboro Hops during the eclipse with a break about 10 minutes before totality. RICHARD LUI / USA TODAY Network

Joanna VanElk of Pacifica, Cali., photographs the sun before the start of the total solar eclipse in Solartown, a solar eclipse campground, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, just north of Madras, Ore. MOLLY J. SMITH / Statesman Journ

Allan and Maira Raicher of California get cozy on the steps of the Oregon State Capitol to view a total solar eclipse, also known as the Great American Eclipse, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, in Salem, Ore. Danielle Peterson / Statesman Journal

Randy Jokela puts solar viewing glasses on his daughter Jane, 3, as the solar eclipse begins in Solartown, a solar eclipse campground, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, just north of Madras, Ore. The family came from Long Beach, Cali., for the eclipse. MOLLY J. SMITH / Statesman Journal

The progression of the total solar eclipse through the sky is seen in this composite photograph from Solartown, a solar eclipse campground, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, just north of Madras, Ore. MOLLY J. SMITH / Statesman Journal

Pot, souvenirs, groceries a mixed bag

Locals were stocking up at Salem Safeways early last week, though out of town customers largely buoyed business on the weekend, according to spokeswoman Jill McGinnis.

Expecting higher sales, Safeways stocked more hard goods and perishables than usual, McGinnis said in an email.

"Thursday was definitely our biggest day, but we felt an increase beginning as early as Tuesday – even at our Starbucks locations," she said.

Asked if Salem stores have been able to move additional or overstocked product, she said, "We should have a better answer to that after this coming weekend, when the majority of our business takes place."